Seaming head



June 5, 1956 w. PECHY 2,748,733

SEAMING HEAD Filed Feb. 5, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

W/ZZ/AM PEC/VV A TTOE/VEYS June 5, 1956 w. PECHY 2,748,733

SEAMING HEAD Filed Feb. 5, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTOE/VEKS' 2,748,733 Patented June 5, 1956 ice SEAMING HEAD William Pechy, Belmar, N. J., assiguor to American Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 5, 1953, Serial No. 335,306

7 Claims. (Cl. 113-19) The present invention relates to can closing machine seaming heads utilizing rollers to interfold the flanges of cans or containers and their covers to unite them in a suitable seam and has particular reference to devices for locking the seaming rollers in place on the seaming heads.

An object of the invention is the provision in a can seaming head of seaming roller retaining or locking devices wherein the seaming rollers are locked against dis placement in such a manner that there are no parts connected with the rollers that can work loose and cause shifting or loss of the rollers during operation of the head.

Another object is the provision of such seaming roller locking devices which permit of rapid and easy manipulation so that a seaming roller, when desired, may be quickly released from the head, replaced and the new roller locked in place with little elfort.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a can closing machine including a seaming head embodying the instant invention, a portion of the machine being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation of the seaming head shown in Fig. 1, the view being taken substantially along a vertical plane indicated by the line 2-2 in Fig. 1, parts being broken away;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the seaming head shown in Fig. 2, the view showing an exploded relation of the seaming roller parts of the head with portions broken away and portions shown in section;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view showing the parts in Fig. 3 in assembled relation;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 in Fig, 4;

Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are fragmentary vertical sectional views illustrating how the seaming roller can be readily released from the head, and

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a tool used in releasing the roller from the head as shown in Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9.

As a preferred or exemplary embodiment of the invention the drawings disclose a rocker type seaming head A (Figs. 1 and 2) used on a canclosing machine 'of the character disclosed in United States Patent 2,447,525 issued August 24, 1948 to R. E. J. Nordquist on Can Closing Machine, although the invention is equally well adapted for use on a rotating or other type seaming head.

In such a closing machine, cans B (Fig. 1) having superimposed covers C are carried along a circular path of travel by turret pockets 21 of a turret 22 fixed to and rotating with a column 23 mounted on a vertical shaft 24 journaled in bearings of the frame of the machine. The shaft 24 may be rotated in any suitable manner. The covers C are held in place on the cans B by chucks 26 mounted on the lower ends of vertical rods 27 carried in bearings 28 formed on the upper end of the column 23. The cans B are supported on vertically movable lifter pads 31. secured to the upper ends of stems 32 carried in bearings 33 which are parts of the machine frame. one chuck 26 and one lifter pad 31 for each pocket 21 of the turret 22.

There is one seaming head A disposed in each space between each two adjacent cans B in the turret 22. These heads A are mounted on the lower ends of vertical rocker shafts 35 journaled in bearings 36 which extend out from the upper end of the column 23. The heads travel with the column. Each seaming head A comprises an armlike housing 38 which extends from its rocker shaft 35 in opposite directions towards two adjacent cans B in the turret 22. At each end, the housing 38 carries a seaming roller 39 (see Fig, 2) for engaging against the outer peripheries of the covers C on the two cans B to seam the covers in place on the cans as explained in the above mentioned Nordquist Patent 2,447,525. One of these seaming rollers 39 is a first operation roller and the other is a second operation roller. However, both rollers are secured to the housing 33 in the same manner, hence a description of one will sufiice for both.

The seaming roller 39 is mounted for free rotation on a hollow trunnion or roll shaft 41 (Figs. 3 and 4) which preferably depends from and is formed integrally with an eccentrically disposed rotor 42 carried in a bearing recess 43 formed in the bottom of the seaming head housing 38. A. collar 45 threadedly .engaged in the lower end of the recess 43 retains the rotor 42 against vertical displacement but permits it to be rotated in its bearing recess 43 to move the trunnion 41 and the seaming roller 39 carried thereon, laterally toward and away from the adjacent can chuck 26 to make the usual adjustments for tightness of the can seam. An adjusting screw 47 threadedly engaged in the head housing 38 and in a Worm 48 formed in the outer periphery of the rotor 42 is provided for manual operation to effect the above mentioned adjustment.

In order to retain the seaming roller 39 in place on the depending hollow trunnion 41 without impairing its free rotation thereon, a locking device is provided which not only insures against loosening of any of the locking parts but which also is readily adapted to rapid release of the roller for removal from its trunnion when required. For this purpose the seaming roller 39 is held in place by a locking disc 51 (Figs. 3 and 4) which seats against the bottom end of the depending trunnion 41 as shown in Fig. 4. The disc 51 is large enough to extend under and support the seaming roller 39 and may be seated in a recess 52 in the bottom of the roller, as shown in Fig. 4.

The locking disc 51 is formed concentrically on an upright hollow stem 53 which extends upwardly into the hollow trunnion 41 for about one half of the length of the trunnion. At its upper end, the disc stem 53 is provided with two oppositely disposed, outwardy extending keys or projections 55 which overhang or extend beyond the outer periphery of the stem. In order to accommodate these keys 55, the inner face of the hollow trunnion 41 is provided with a bayonet type locking feature which comprises a pair of oppositely disposed vertical keyways or longitudinal entrance grooves 56 of a width slightly greater than the width of the keys 55 to readily receive the keys and to permit sliding of the keys therealong. The keyways or grooves 56 extend upwardly from the bottom end of the trunnion and terminate in an annular locking groove 57 formed in the inner face of the hollow trunnion 41 at a height substantially equal to the vertical distance between the keys 55 and the locking disc 51 on the stem 53.

Hence to lock the seaming roller 39 against displace- There isv ment from its trunnion 41 it is merely necessary to insert the keys 55 of the locking disc 51 into the keyways 56 in the hollow trunnion 41 and lift the locking disc upwardly until the keys 55 enter vertically the annular locking groove 57. The locking disc 51 will then be in engagement with the bottom of the trunnion and in seaming roller supporting position. By rotating the locking disc 51 through substantially a right angle, the keys 55 on the locking disc stem 53 are moved horizontally along locking groove 57 and out of vertical alignment with the longitudinal keyway grooves 56 and thus the locking disc 51 and the seaming roller 39 supported thereby are locked against vertical displacement.

Further provision is made to retain the keys 55 in locking position to fully lock the disc 51 in place. This is efiected by a locking sleeve 62 (Figs. 3 and 4) which is disposed inside the hollow trunnion 4.1 immediately above the annular groove 57. The locking sleeve 62 is free to move vertically but is held against rotation by a pin 63 which is carried in the trunnion 41 and which projects inwardly into a vertical elongated slot 64 in the sleeve. The locking sleeve 62 is normally pressed downwardly by a compression spring 65 which is disposed in the upper end of the hollow trunnion, above and pressing against the top of the sleeve as shown in Fig. 4. The spring thus yieldably holds the sleeve in a position where the pin 63 engages against the upper end of the slot 64 as shown in Fig. 4. The sleeve 62 is of such a length that when it is in this position, its lower end overlaps or extends down adjacent the annular groove 57 in the trunnion. This lower end of the locking sleeve is provided with two oppositely disposed notches or keyways 67 which are of a width substantially equal to the width of the keys 55. These notches 67 are located out of alignment with the vertical keyways 56 in the trunnion 41, preferably at right angles thereto and are held by the pin 63 against rotation out of this location.

Hence when the keys 55 of the locking disc 51 enter the annular groove 57 in the trunnion 41, during application of the locking disc to the trunnion, the keys 55 engage the lower end of the locking sleeve 62 and push the sleeve upwardly against the force of the spring 65. The locking sleeve 62 remains in this raised position while the locking disc 51 is rotated to lock it in place. In rotating the locking disc 51, the keys 55 are rotated into alignment with the notches 67 in the sleeve, and the spring 65 thereupon snaps the sleeve 62 down over the upper end of the disc stem 53 immediately adjacent or radially inwardly of the keys 55, thus locking the stern in the notches 67 of the non-rotatable sleeve (Fig. 4). Thus the sleeve 62 fully locks the locking disc 51 against rotation and the seaming roller 39 is securely held against displacement without fear of loosening any of the locking parts to free it. Hence by a mere insertion and rotation of the stem 53 of the locking disc 51 the disc and the seaming roller may be readily locked against displacement relative to the seaming head.

In a similar manner the locking disc 51 may be readily unlocked to release and remove a seaming roller 39 for replacement or other requirement. This may be readily effected by inserting a screw driver or rod up through the hollow stem 53 of the locking disc 51 and engaging and lifting the locking sleeve 62 against the resistance of the spring 65 as best shown in Figs. 6 and 7. An annular shoulder or ledge 69 on the inside of the sleeve is provided for engagement by the tool. Raising of the sleeve 62 lifts the locking notches 67 out of locking engagement with the keys 55 as shown in Fig. 7. While thus holding the sleeve 62 in its raised position, the locking disk 51 is turned until the keys 55 are aligned with and enter the vertical keyways 56 in the hollow trunnion 41. as shown in 8. The locking disc 51 may there upon be withdrawn from the trunnion as shown in Fig. 9.

Rotation of the locking disc 51 into and out of locking position may be readily effected manually by frictional engagement or pressure against the bottom of the disc. To facilitate rotation of the locking disc 51 slots or other recesses 71 (Figs. 3 and 4) may be provided in the bottom of the disc. A simple tool shown in Fig. 10 may be used to eifect a combined sleeve lifting and disc rotating operation. This tool comprises a rod 72 which carries a collar 73 having a pair of diametrically opposed tongues 74 formed on its top face. A pin 75 removably secured in the rod 72 and operating in a vertical elongated slot 76 in the collar 73 permits of sliding the collar along the rod while simultaneously attaching the collar to the rod to provide a unitary tool.

In use, the rod 72 is inserted through the hollow locking disc stem 53 and thence into the sleeve 62 for engagement against the sleeve shoulder 69 as shown in Fig. 6. Simultaneously with this action the tongues 74 on the collar 73 are inserted into the slots 71 in the locking disc 51 as shown in Fig. 6. The sleeve 62 may then be raised by pushing the rod 72 upwardly as shown in Fig. 7 while holding the rod in this position the collar 73 and the rod are rotated as shown in Fig. 8 to turn the locking disc 51 and thus unlock the seaming roller (Fig. 9) as explained above.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and it! rangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. In a seaming head for uniting can ends to cans, the combination of a head housing, a hollow trunnion depending from said housing, a seaming roller mounted on said trunnion for free rotation thereon, a locking disc disposed adjacent the end of said trunnion for supporting said roller against displacement from said trunnion, a hollow stem on said locking disc extending up into said hollow trunnion, a projection on said stern overhanging the outer face of said stem, a bayonet joint comprising a keyway extending along said trunnion in the inner face thereof and a connecting annular groove for receiving and holding said projection for securing said stem and said locking disc in place, a locking sleeve disposed within said hollow trunnion above said annular groove, said sleeve being slideable within said trunnion and having adjacent said annular groove a locking notch disposed out of alignment with said bayonet joint keyway for engagement over said projection, pressure means exerting a yieldable force against said sleeve in the direction of said annular groove to lteep said notch engaged over said projection, means connecting said sleeve with said trunnion to hold said sleeve against rotation with out interfering with its sliding movement for locking said projection and its attached stem against movement relative to said trunnion to insure against loosening of said disc and displacement of said roller during operation of said head, and means on said sleeve engagcable by an instrumentality inserted through said hollow stem for releasing said sleeve from said projection to release said locking disc for removal with said roller from said trunnion for replacement of said roller.

2. In a seaming head for securing can ends to cans, the combination of a housing having a hollow trunnion depending therefrom, said trunnion having a longitudinal entrance groove communicating with a transverse annular locking groove on the interior surface thereof, a seaming roller mounted on said trunnion for free rotation thereon, a disc engageable against the lower end of said trunnion for supporting the seaming roller thereon, said disc having a stem extending loosely through said hollow trunnion and provided with a laterally extending projection engageable with said annular locking groove for supporting said disc on the trunnion, and

means for locking the projection in the annular locking groove, said locking means being releasable from the exterior of said trunnion.

3. In a seaming head for securing can ends to cans, the combination of a housing having a hollow trunnion depending therefrom, said trunnion having a longitudinal entrance groove communicating with a transverse annular locking groove on the interior surface thereof, a seaming roller mounted on said trunnion for free rotation thereon, a disc engageable against the lower end of aid trunnion for supporting the seaming roller thereon, said disc having a stem extending loosely through said hollow trunnion and provided with a laterally extending projection engageable with said annular locking groove for supporting said disc in operative position on the trunnion, a locking member slidably mounted within said trunnion above said disc stem and having means for holding said member against rotation within the trunnion, and means on said locking member engageable with said disc stern for locking the latter against rotation within said trunnion to hold said disc and seaming roller against displacement therefrom.

4. In a seaming head for securing can ends to cans, the combination of a housing having a hollow trunnion depending therefrom, said trunnion having a longitudinal entrance groove communicating with a transverse annular locking groove on the interior surface thereof, a seaming roller mounted on said trunnion for free rotation thereon, a disc engageable against the lower end of said trunnion for supporting the seaming roller thereon, said disc having an integral stern extending loosely through said hollow trunnion and provided with a laterally extending projection engageable with said annular locking groove for supporting said disc on the trunnion, a locking sleeve slidably mounted within said trunnion above said disc stem and having means for holding the sleeve against rotation relative to the trunnion, means on the lower end of said sleeve engageable with the upper end of said disc stem for locking the latter and said disc against rotation within said trunnion, and means for yieldably urging said locking member and disc stem into said non-rotative locking engagement to hold said disc and seaming roller against longitudinal displacement from said trunnion.

5. The combination defined in claim 4 wherein said locking means on the lower end of said sleeve comprises a notch for yieldably receiving the upper end of said disc stem adjacent said laterally extending projection thereon.

6. In a seaming head for uniting can ends to cans, the combination of a head housing, a hollow trunnion depending from said housing, a seaming roller mounted on said trunnion for free rotation thereon, a locking disc disposed adjacent the lower end of said trunnion for supporting said roller against displacement therefrom,

a stem on said locking disc extending up into said hollow trunnion, a projection on the inner end of said stem extending laterally therefrom, a bayonet joint comprising a keyway extending longitudinally of said trunnion on the inner face thereof and a connecting annular groove extending at right angles to said keyway for successively receiving said disc stem projection to secure said stem and locking disc in place on and against longitudinal movement relative to said trunnion, a locking sleeve disposed within said hollow trunnion, and a pin and slot connection between said sleeve and trunnion for holding the sleeve against rotation thereon, said sleeve having means thereon engageable with said disc stem adjacent said projection for locking said disc against rotative movement relative to said trunnion to insure against displacement of said disc and said seaming roller from said trunnion bayonet joint.

7. In a seaming head for uniting can ends to cans, the combination of a head housing, a hollow trunnion depending from said housing, a seaming roller mounted on said trunnion for free rotation thereon, a locking disc disposed adjacent the lower end of said trunnion for supporting said roller against displacement therefrom, a stem on said locking disc extending freely into said hollow trunnion for relative movement therein, a projection on the inner end of said stem extending laterally therefrom, a bayonet joint comprising a keyway extending longitudinally of said trunnion on the inner face thereof and a transverse annular groove communicating with and extending at right angles to said keyway for receiving said disc stem projection when the latter is oriented thereinto to secure said stem and said locking disc in place on and against longitudinal movement relative to said trunnion, and a sleeve member slidably disposed within said hollow trunnion above said annular groove, said sleeve member having a locking notch disposed out of vertical alignment with said bayonet joint keyway, and resilient means Within said hollow trunnion engaging said sleeve member for yieldably urging said locking notch into engagement with said disc stem adjacent said projection for holding said stem against rotative movement relative to said trunnion when said projection is in oriented locked position within said annular bayonet joint groove, whereby to insure against longitudinal displacement of said disc and seaming roller from said trunnion during operation of said head.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,752,328 Cameron Apr. 1, 1930 1,752,912 Kronquest Apr. 1, 1930 1,996,382 Lange Apr. 2, 1935 2,152,571 Schmidt Mar. 28, 1939 2,312,102 Krueger Feb. 23, 1943 

